Dark Star
by naluislife247
Summary: The Zodiacs are the best assassins in all of Fiore, with Star being their leader. But when their latest target becomes Wendy from Fairy Tail will they follow through? Can Natsu find out before it is to late? And what is the truth behind the Zodiacs? All rights to Hiro Mashima
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _She was a devil: crimson red eyes and silver hair, her battle dress black, white, and red. The pure embodiment of pain and terror with the power to cast stars and galaxies at her foes. Her heart a broken mess, her eyes hold back tears, her movements fast as if she were afraid. Some say after she kills she laughs only to scream in agony and collapse, clutching her heart and crying. Darkness and stars and galaxies would flood the area, making it seem that you were standing in the universe itself and there you would find her: in the center of the universe. She became known as The Dark Star. Most only went for Star._

 _But her friends, the only ones who mattered,_

 _Called her Lucy._

Chapter 1

Silver hair cascaded down her shoulders as Star undid her pigtails, it had been a long day and the lead assassin was tired. Sitting on her wooden chair and looking at her make shift vanity, she takes out a brush while focusing on the mirror. There's a knock on the door and Star looks to see Cancer peering in.

"Need help?"

"Sure Cancer. Can you do a braid?"

Star sits perfectly still as Cancer brushes her hair before braiding it. He was taller than she was, his dark skin giving his identity away. Every member of the Zodiacs was from Minstrel, a war-torn country full of orphans and mayhem. Natives of Minstrel were characteristically white or tan, but Cancer was dark and even admitted his nationality was Joya, a country to the upper side of Minstrel.

There were 13 Zodiac members:  
Leo and Star, who had both families die in a bombing.

Ares, whose town was attacked by chemical weapons.

The Gemini twins who were left to die in the rubble of their house.

Cancer and Aquarius, who both lost their fathers in battle.

Virgo and Capricorn, who lost everything in a raid.

Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Libra who got kicked out of a refugee camp for stealing medicine.

And lastly, Pisces, the mother and son that fought and stole to live.

It was a kill or be killed world, a constant cycle of chaos and destruction. All but Pisces and the Gemini twins killed to get by. Each of them casts away their true names and donned the names of the constellations. Eventually all the calculated murders branded them as the Zodiacs, an elite group of assassins who cut down anyone in their way.

But at the end of the day, they were teenagers, just kids. The only adult was Pisces. Even though they made it into Fiore, the ptsd trapped them in that dreaded war. They were never safe, never loved, condemned to live a life covered in blood.

If only people could see how controlled, they were by fear.

"Cancer," Star can't help but ask, "If you weren't an assassin, what would you be?"

It was a dangerous question, all 13 of them were branded as monsters. So, what was the point of dreams?

"A hair stylist."

"Oh."

An awkward silence fills the air as Cancer goes to leave, but just as he opens the door Star calls out to him.

"Cameron!", he looks back at her surprised to hear his true name, "I think you'll make a great stylist!"

For the first time in years, Cameron smiles. This was his dream after all, and to hear someone cheer him on was enlightening. But even so, the Zodiacs weren't allowed to dream. And although he hated to admit it, a dream was just a dream.

After changing into an oversized shirt, Star picks up the file that she had placed previously on her vanity. It contained a picture of a young girl with blue hair and brown eyes. Her name was Wendy, she was a Fairy Tail mage and about 12 years old. The client, Minerva, was offering the Zodiacs 1 million dollars in the successful murder of Wendy.

With this money they might get a life. Living in an abandoned factory was getting to be a hassle. Sure, there was electricity and they had high tech that made missions easier, not to mention a hidden underground basement. But it never felt like home.

That was Star's dream: to have a house with enough rooms for all of them. To eat expensive steaks and wear beautiful clothes, maybe even go to school. A place to feel safe and loved, somewhere she could break away from the chaos.

With the money Minerva was offering, that dream might come true. The young girl lets out a sigh as she makes her way to bed, leaving the file alone. They would have to plan the murder tomorrow, it would take a week of investigating Wendy and planning the kill.

Laying in her makeshift bed, she can't help but think of that little girl. Wendy was her ticket to a normal life, but she was only a child. Was this really the right thing to do? Hopefully the investigations and research would prove her innocence and Star wouldn't have to kill her.

Closing her eyes Star gives into her drowsiness and falls into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Wendy trailed behind Natsu, happily eating her ice cream as they made their way to Fairy Tail. The Grand Magic Games were just two weeks away and Natsu had taken it upon himself to coach Wendy. So, after a day of training, it was decided that she deserved a reward.

"Someone's happy." Natsu says with a smile, looking back at Wendy. "Look at you, you're a mess."

Well, he wasn't wrong, strawberry ice-cream was all over her face and fingers but who could blame her? She couldn't let it melt! She had to catch every drop regardless the consequences. The tiny dragon slayer just shrugged and continued snacking, now walking in tune with him. Of all the dragon slayers Natsu had come across he connected with Wendy the most and the two became brother and sister. It was nice to teach her about dragons as she was recently abandoned by her own. The little girl knew only the basics and nothing on mating, how to effectively control her dragon force, the different kinds of dragons that existed, or even the simplest things like shedding scales. Igneel, however, had taught Natsu in great detail all there was to know about dragons. Of course, that knowledge hardly helped with reading and writing skills, but he happily answered Wendy's questions regardless. She would never know it, but Natsu's protectiveness towards her was both human and animalistic. The first mature dragon who finds an abandoned hatchling will normally take it upon themselves to protect and strengthen the much younger and naive dragon. Natsu was the first dragon slayer to interact with Wendy and when it was confirmed that her guild didn't exist anymore, he took on the role of protecting her. And thus, Wendy became commonly known as Natsu's little sister.

Wendy works what's left of the ice cream and begins eating the cone only to look disappointed when she fails to wipe the ice cream off her hands. "My hands are all sticky now."

"That's because you have ice cream all over them."

"It's so gross though."

"Well when we reach the guild you should clean up."

She sighs, taking in their surroundings to distract herself from the mess she made. It was a beautiful summery day without a cloud in the sky, the air smelled of the flowers that dotted the street giving off a pleasant aroma. For the moment, she didn't have a care in the world. Just an innocent girl having a wonderful day with her friend.

"Should we really be doing this?" Pisces, or Lorelei, voices her concern. "The target looks to be about my son's age. She's just a kid."

"So are child soldiers." Aquarius remarks, crossing her arms. "I say we take the mission, if it concerns you that much I'll make it quick. The girl won't feel a thing."

Tension permeated the abandoned factory as all the assassins were processing their knew mission. The thirteen of them sit at a long table that was probably used as a make-shift cafeteria for the factory workers, all of them were becoming fully engaged in if it was morally right to kill a child.

Corrupt leaders? Easy. Criminals and psychopaths? No problem. A child? Maybe not.

"That's not what she's saying Aquarius," Star, who is currently sharpening her last blade interjects. Unlike the rest of them, Star took pride in taking care of her weapons and always polished and sharpened them before a mission. "She's asking if this is morally right." Taking one last look at the six-point shuriken in her hands she notices a blemish near the center: there was a small scratch no more the size of a fly, but it angered her anyway and the assassin pulled out her polishing supplies to get to work. "I've been thinking about this mission lately," she says still not looking up from her work, "We should do an investigation like the ones in the past. That way, if Wendy is innocent we can simply turn on Minerva and get spared the battle of morals." Star holds the shuriken above her, analyzing the blade, it just _had_ to be perfect.

Star often went for a quick kill, it was her way of showing the victim respect. Having sharp knives and shuriken made that easier and besides, sometimes if the victim wasn't a wizard, she would drop all of her weapons and let them take one and she'd take one. For a monster, she was strange as she fiercely defended her friends, wouldn't kill someone who was completely defenseless and weak (unless they deserved it), and came up with their investigation.

Their method of investigating had changed considerably but the one Star suggested took two weeks and was, in her opinion, the most effective. The team would split up in groups of six, group A researched the client to find their true intentions while group B researched the victim to see if they were cruel enough to deserve death. That was week one. The second week depended on the verdict. If the victim was innocent, the Zodiacs would form a plan to kill the client. But if the victim was "filthy", they would plan to kill the victim. The thirteenth member who isn't in either group would befriend the victim to find out what they believed.

If the victim was innocent, the assassin deceiving them would give them a special crystal coin: it had the Greek symbol of whichever zodiac gave the coin, and on the back, it had a star. Regardless the investigation style, they always gave their coin.

If only crystals sold at a high price, unfortunately they were found all over Minstrel and therefore had no value.

Aries, who is currently next to Loke whispers something in his ear and the lion zodiac nods in response. "Aries says we should vote on it."

"Alright," Star gently sets her shuriken on the table, pausing her polishing technique, "Those who want to take the mission raise your hands."

Star sits back and watches as six raise their hand, oddly enough Star never voted and only ever did when it reached a tie.

"Now raise your hand if you are against the mission."

1, 2, ...3 more hands raise up. That's six votes on each side. Star raises an eyebrow at Libra, surprised to see her hand up.

"Really Libra? You're the most cutthroat of us here."

"The world rests on a balance, killing a child would disrupt that balance and chaos would follow."

"Well Lucy, what is your vote?" Pisces asks, and all the zodiacs look to their leader expectantly. Calling their leader by her true name often showed the seriousness of the situation. They weren't asking Star: leader of the zodiacs, they were asking _Lucy_ , a victim of war.

She pursed her lips together, trying to find the best solution until something clicked. Star, no. _Lucy,_ stands up from her spot at the table.

"We'll investigate. The six who voted against will research Wendy while the rest will investigate Minerva. You claim that Wendy is innocent? Show me the proof. I'll be the one who infiltrates Fairy Tail and befriends the target."

There's a moment of silence as the twelve mulls over what they've been told. Cancer, however, breaks the silence.

"You can't go in looking like that. White hair and red eyes? You'll scare everyone away."

"Not necessarily, I can always claim to be albino."

"True, but you still need a new look." Cancer says with a broad smile, "And I know just what to do."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The little mermaid by Hans Anderson is quoted in here, I do not own his works all credit goes to him and Hiro Mashima

The once beautiful sky turned dark and ugly, lightening crackled through the thick clouds as thunder screeched and roared. Both dragon slayers stayed in the warmth of their guild, watching the rain beat against the ground and splatter aggressively against the windows. Suddenly, for a mere second, everything around them went white and an ungodly screech erupted from the sky. Wendy screamed with it and huddled against Natsu in one of the many booths, clinging to him for dear life. He takes his scarf and wraps it around Wendy's neck telling her it's okay. Although he was in the mood for a fight, having Wendy clinging to him seemed to change his mind. So, their fellow ice wizard, wanting to fight Natsu, decided it was the best idea to taunt them.

"You know Wendy," Gray says, leaning over the table. "They say lightning can go through the building itself."

"Don't." Natsu practically growls at him, knowing exactly what Gray was doing. But the ice mage wasn't about to back down and instead continues to scare Wendy further.

"I heard stories of a little girl electrocuted inside her own home-"

"That's enough!" Natsu slams his hand against the table simultaneously holding a shaking Wendy closer to his side. "You don't scare your own nakama!"

By this time the two of them were butting heads already getting fired up. Grey was grinning at the sight, knowing that Natsu would get triggered if he scared Wendy. Natsu huffed out his frustration, a sweltering heat emitting from him as flames crackled to life in his fists. Gray answers in kind, a pale blue hue enveloping his skin as enchanting ice began to crawl up his arms. Both locked eyes at each other not even noticing Wendy wriggling out of Natsu's grasp.

"Frighten her like that again and I may just burn you to ashes." Natsu flashes his canines, his inner dragon threatening to come out.

"Having you be her mentor is frightening enough."

Without warning Natsu shot upwards, colliding his fist with Gray's chin forcing his neck to arc painfully backward before he counters punching Natsu in the gut with an ice-covered fist. The two mages grin at each other and with all disregard for the guild, tackle and bite and curse with a flurry of ice and fire. Wendy reserves herself to Levy who seems to be the only guild member at peace with herself, the young woman rests her book down and lets Wendy settle in next to her.

"What are you reading?"

"The little mermaid, do you want to read it with me?"

Wendy nods and Levy props her book open, it was a collection of the classics ranging from the Grimm brother's fairy tales to Hans Anderson, the old leathery binding fraying and that wonderful aged book smell brought to light how many times Levy had read these stories. She takes a moments glance at Natsu and Gray's fight before flipping to the page and holding it, so Wendy can see.

"Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep..."

Star wanders Magnolia alone, not minding the bitter cold as rain splatters on her porcelain like skin, the young assassin stalking towards Fairy Tail with a clouded mind. A fair amount of doubt lingered in her head as she thought of the Zodiac's future victim and yet she steels herself anyway. The Zodiacs agreed on doing the investigation, so she can only hope little Wendy is as innocent as a child should be. Finding herself now in front of the guild, Star takes one final glance at the puddles forming on the cobble road. Her reflection looks back at her and for a flicker of a moment Star marveled at Cancer's craftmanship: he had successfully dyed her hair the golden color it once was and used a spell of his own creation to turn her crimson eyes back to their original mahogany. Of course, her outfit had to change as well and with the two-piece blue and gold outfit Cancer gave her, she looked like any other mage. Save for a shirt that basically functioned as a push up bra much to Taurus' and Loke's approval.

Of course, the hard part of Star's transformation was getting beaten by Aquarius, so she could accurately play the victim. But even with a busted lip, black eye, and scrapes here and there, there was something about looking like who she once was that made Star feel almost…human. Taking a deep breath Star closes her eyes and focuses on the war that ensnared her life, letting the fear and paranoia creep back into her veins until she began frantically pounding on Fairy Tail's door and begging loudly for someone to help her. The door opens almost immediately and the pink haired mage who opened it takes one look at her before grabbing her arm and pulling her into the guild. The assassin begins to cry and recants her concocted story of being beaten and robbed. She gives a feeble description of the non-existent attackers and one mage who is surprisingly nearly naked decides to look around town.

The young man who pulled her into the guild introduces himself as Natsu and has her sit down at the bar before sitting next to her, he places his hand against the small of her back and a sudden heat evaporates the rain off her. She must have looked surprised because he smiles at her.

"It's a trick I learned a while back." The mage exclaims, retracting his hand. "Pretty nice right?"

"T-thank you…"

"You were good to come to Fairy Tail," he says with complete seriousness, the sudden change from his carefree attitude catching her off guard. "What's your name again?"

"Lucy."

"We won't let them hurt you Luce, you'll be safe with us."

Natsu smiles at her briefly before asking a "Mira" for two drinks. The snow haired girl, presumably Mira, gracefully moves behind the counter and brings them both a mug of beer. Lucy read up on her, this was the girl with devil magic and the man next to her must be the salamander everyone speaks of. Strange how destruction follows these two and yet neither seem to act as destructive as they claim to be. With that wine-red dress and pink bows, the long goddess like hair, and slender body Lucy would have never guessed she had devil magic. Natsu looked ready for a fight though, even in his calm demeaner she could see the burning in his eyes. He was trying to figure her out, watching her intently before asking his questions.

"So where are you from Lucy?"

"The Magnolia Inn."

He chuckles at this, she smelt of iron and rain. Nothing like the old smell of Magnolia Inn. "No, I mean, where are you from?"


End file.
